A review on antidiabetic activity of Citrullus colocynthis Schrad.

Current studies have elaborated diabetes mellitus as one of the most prevalent endocrine disorder throughout the world. Citrullus colocynthis (C. colocynthis) is one of the most common traditional plants used as remedy against diabetes mellitus. It is well recognized by its hypoglycemic effect, which is substantiated in current phytotherapy. Its undesired effects include the disturbance of gastrointestinal and urinary tracts. This review article encompasses various blood glucose lowering studies that have been carried out till date. Various parts of plants used in extract preparation were roots, fruits, seeds, rinds and leaves. The nature of these extracts was ethnolic, methanolic, or aqueous and their doses varied from 10 to 500 mg/kg body weight/ day. All these published articles elaborate C. colocynthis as a potential antiglycemic medicinal plant.